Hello!
Let’s continue with where I left off last week – driftnetting regulations! I’d like to mention that aside from its high bycatches, driftnetting contributes to overfishing too since so many fish are caught with each net.
Seeing the state of overfishing today, I’m sceptical about the effectiveness of driftnetting regulations. Indeed, it was acknowledged that the 1992 EU ban on large driftnets didn’t stop large-scale driftnet fisheries from proliferating (Sala, 2015). Without effective enforcement, fisheries can blatantly ignore regulations and continue business-as-usual. Just look at the resumption of illegal driftnetting in Morocco in 2014 despite its official discontinuation in 2010 (Elliott, 2014). Moreover, regulatory loopholes may be exploited. Some fisheries attached metal rings to driftnets to pass them off as surrounding nets – abusing the vague definition of surrounding nets (The Black Fish, 2015), which made me go:
So… why the resistance to sustainable fishing practices? Probably because fishing efficiency will be affected. Driftnets procure substantial hauls and are cheap to use – not much fuel is needed to employ them (Ruiz, 2016). It’s easy to see how profit-oriented fishers are reluctant to change. Most likely, they are primarily concerned with short-term gains and fail to realise that prolonged driftnetting will eventually impact profits by heavily depleting fish stocks. Perpetuating the notion of ‘fish less and catch more’ is so crucial in changing mindsets (Zeller & Pauly, 2019)!
(Y’all can read more about fisheries’ reluctance in my reply to Elliott’s comment last post!)
Still, there are real difficulties in switching away from driftnets. A 1993 study on the impacts of the UN ban on large-scale driftnetting revealed that the sudden discontinuation of large-scale driftnet fisheries could result in significant unemployment. For instance, in Japan, 60% of those employed in driftnetting were expected to become jobless without chances of re-employment (Huppert & Mittleman, 1993).
This is what the Director of the Hokkaido Pelagic Fishery Cooperative had to say (Huppert & Mittleman, 1993):
“This was a shock to us because there was no planning – we only found out (about the moratorium) last year – we really were not aware of how strong a chance the moratorium had of succeeding – we did not plan and have been caught off-guard as to how to deal with the problem of unemployment.”
To me, this highlights the reality of spillover effects of environmental lobbying for legislation that seemingly appear wholly beneficial. More importantly, it reminds us that in pushing for sustainability, we can’t overlook those whose livelihoods directly rely on the current system.
Back at home, decarbonisation of our economy was lobbied for during the Climate Rally. While sustainable, I wonder how those employed, say in the petroleum industry, would handle the transition. For sure, if this call to action were to come through, the government needs to lend them support.
Returning to driftnetting, we now know it’s not a simple matter of passing legislation – what matters is the follow-up action to help fisheries transition, such as by providing compensations. Though, monitoring is needed to ensure transparency in the usage of the funds – it’s not unheard of for fisheries to continue driftnetting despite receiving subsidies to help them convert (Sabata & Dinmore, 2010). It’s a downer, but that just goes to show how hard it is to shift towards sustainable fishing.
Sea ya!
References
Elliott, B. (2014, June 18). Photos: Oceana Uncovers Illegal Driftnet Fishing in Morocco. Oceana. Retrieved from https://oceana.org/blog/photos-oceana-uncovers-illegal-driftnet-fishing-morocco
Huppert D. D., & Mittleman T. W. (1993, December). Economic effects of the United Nations moratorium on high seas driftnet fishing. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Retrieved from https://swfsc.noaa.gov/publications/TM/SWFSC/NOAA-TM-NMFS-SWFSC-194.PDF
Ruiz, I. B. (2016, March 22). Illegal drift nets continue to ravage the seas. Deutsche Welle. Retrieved from https://www.dw.com/en/illegal-drift-nets-continue-to-ravage-the-seas/a-19131066
Sabata E. d., & Dinmore G. (2010, July 6). Italy tackles abuse of EU fishing subsidies. Financial Times. Retrieved from https://www.ft.com/content/2cd9b24e-8849-11df-aade-00144feabdc0
Sala, A. (2015, February). Alternative solutions for driftnet fisheries. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/273850817_Alternative_solutions_for_driftnet_fisheries
The Black Fish. (2015, August 19). Deadly Driftnet Loophole Exposed in Italy. PlanetExperts. Retrieved from http://www.planetexperts.com/deadly-driftnet-loophole-exposed-in-italy/
Zeller, D., & Pauly, D. (2019). Viewpoint: Back to the future for fisheries, where will we choose to go? Global Sustainability, 2. Retrieved fromhttps://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/426C9BB9369552CC81A1A10E95573F53/S2059479819000085a.pdf/viewpoint_back_to_the_future_for_fisheries_where_will_we_choose_to_go.pdf
